Family Business (L&B Sequel) (EDITING)

|25| The Letter

Nigel sat on the edge of the bed looking through the letter Natasha had given him that morning. He read and reread because it just wasn't making sense. None of it was adding up, so he didn't know what to believe. He tried to piece together the past and see if there was any signs that he missed. How could Maria have been pregnant? She was on serious drugs and he visited her. She was in rehab for a year. There was no way this was truthful.

Shayy walked from the bathroom naked and he knew this issue was serious because he didn't even act like the crazed dog he usually became. She too noticed that and looked at him, then to what was in his hand. She grabbed a pair of laced Victoria Secret boy shorts and slipped into them. She walked over with her bra in tow and put it over her shoulders and turned in front of him. He put the letter down and stood to help her out.

"What's that you're reading?" She asked sensing an uneasy feeling from him.

"The letter that Maria left Natasha." He responded quietly after clasping her bra. She turned to him.

"What's wrong with it?" Shayy asked.

"She had another baby and gave her up for adoption." He responded.

Shayy's lip dropped. She couldn't believe her ears. Maria had another child, which meant that Natasha had a sibling, which also meant that there was a possibility Nigel could have another child. This was about to get even crazier.

"Is she yours?" Shayy spit out.

"I don't know. From the letter, she's indicating that it is. But, I honestly don't know." He sat back down on the bed.

"Okay, well, what do you plan to do?"

"I don't know."

"I think you should find this child. Even if she isn't yours, Natasha has a sibling out there. I mean, given that this child is still alive. Oh my God. What information did she leave?"

"The baby was born three years after Natasha, October 25th. She was also born at the institution's hospital. She doesn't say anything about the adoption but she said that if Natasha ever wanted to meet this kid, find Arlene and Micah Thomas."

"Okay, so, let's hire a detective and find this child." Shayy said.

"You're taking this extremely well."

"What did you expect? It's not like you're finding out about a child you created within the last sixteen years. If so, you'd be leaving out the front door in a body bag." She kissed his cheek and continued getting dressed.

"Damn, you're scary. That's sexy." He walked up behind her and grabbed her waist. "Know any good detectives?"

"Actually, I do. I went out on a few dates with him before I met you but, he's amazing at his job." She smiled knowing it wouldn't be funny to Nigel at all.

"You're joking right?" He face dropped, just as she suspected. She had to be kidding.

"No, I'm actually very serious. We've been friends for all these years. I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing the work for a discounted price either."

"So, on these dates...did he kiss you? Touch you? Fuck you?"

"Nigel, do you want his help or not?" Shayy tried avoiding the question. There wasn't anything to it but his jealousy was cute to see sometimes.

"If it was a kiss, just let me know. I'll be okay with it." He lied. He couldn't even stand other men looking at her.

"Nigel, seriously." She rolled her eyes.

"Tell me..." He looked at her, biting his lip. He was curious about this  'sixteen plus years' friendship with another man he'd never met.

"We didn't kiss, we didn't touch or fuck. We figured out on the second date that we weren't right for each other. He was looking for a woman who was ready right then and there to have his baby and he was a little weird. After the second date, we agreed to be friends and it felt more natural than trying to date. He's a great detective. Twenty-five years in the field and he's never failed anyone. So, I'll call him."

"Give me his number, I'll call."

"Fine." She gave him her phone with Kyle Andrews' number showing. "Now is probably a good time to call."

"Am I going to have to kick this man's ass?"

"No. Sixteen years and you're going to ask me something like that?"

"I just have to check in. You're a beautiful...sexy...very sexy...delicious thirty-four year old woman. Any man would be lucky to have you and I never know when I fuck up. And, just like sixteen years ago, you had people standing by waiting for me to fuck up."

"But, you're a smart man." She stood on the tip of her toes and kissed his lips. "I'm not going anywhere. Neither are you. We've invested too much into this marriage of ours. Although we fight, I would rather fight with you than love someone else."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Call Kyle, tell him Captain Crunch sent you." She laughed as she walked into the bathroom and did her makeup.

Nigel sat down on the bed and called Kyle Andrews. He had to find this child. As Shayy said, either way, Natasha had a sibling out there. He wanted to see if he had another child too. It was scary. He couldn't help but hope not. That would mean he'd missed eighteen years of his child's life. He would have no way of making up for so much lost time. He'd also be depressed if his child didn't want anything to do with him. So many thoughts ran through his mind.

After talking to Kyle and faxing him all the information he had available from Maria's rehab records to the letter she'd wrote, he felt a little better to get he process started. Kyle was a cool dude and he could tell just  from talking to the guy why his woman wasn't interested. He had to laugh at the moment of insecurity he had. But, never underestimate any man when a woman is involved.

Later that evening, Nigel decided to chill with the kids. He'd made it a habit to spend more time with them throughout the week. They were typically a busy family and he could see that he wasn't spending as much time as he could with them. He had to be up on game. Synyai was at age where Natasha discovered abusive and sexual relationships and he needed to make sure his youngest daughter didn't have to experience that. Juan was at the age boy typically wanted to entertain the opposite sex. Nigel wasn't too sure that Juan was into girls but he wouldn't love his son any less. Junior on the other hand knew nothing about girls unless they were in a math problem. 

"Daddy, can we watch the Taken movies?" Synyai asked as she sat on the couch.

"She just wants to watch that because it's about a dad and his daughter." Juan replied from the love seat.

"Well, last time, we watched the Avengers movies. So, we'll watch what Syn wants tonight." He responded placing the first Taken movie into the DVD player. He grabbed the remote and the seat between Synyai and Junior. 

Synyai laid her head on his should and Junior leaned up against him. Juan on the other hand felt like he was too old to be in his daddy's arms. They watched the movie. Half way through, Shayy brought in two bowls of popcorn. She handed one to Nigel and sat on the love seat with Juan. He didn't mind being a mama's boy. He laid his head back on her chest and held the popcorn. They all sat watching the Taken movies and enjoying the quality time together.

Nigel felt like he needed to keep a grip on the ones in his household. Naris was down in Florida building his own family and empire. Natasha and Tjay went back to his house and would also be leaving to Arizona soon. She was now married and had a family to help raise. He felt like this mystery child would cause a lot of drama. He just had an uneasy feeling about the entire thing.

He glanced over at Shayy to see her looking at him. She could pick up on his moods quicker than he could. Sometimes, he swore she was a psychic. It was hella  crazy. He gave her a signal letting her know it was okay. She nodded and returned her attention to the TV.

Things would be okay, they had to be.